It took almost seven seconds to make a selection but I simply had to start with two of the Panhead beers made by long time friend of the Malthouse and former Tuatara brewer Mike Neilson. He has gone all in to make his new venture work – selling the family home and, with the help of his parents, investing $750,000 into his Upper Hutt brewery which can produce up to 280,000 litres of beer a year. The plan is to get output up to a million litres within five years.

Panhead Custom Ales was launched at Beervana with the brewery’s name giving a nod to “Upper Hutt’s motoring heritage”. [2] A panhead, for non-petrol heads like me, is apparently a type of engine. Born and bred in Upper Hutt, Mike describes his brewing philosophy as “big engines, big hops, big everything.” True to that theme, two of his first beers have racing inspired names – Days of Thunder and Supercharger.

Conventional beer tasting wisdom states that people should start with more subtle beers and then gradually work their way up in terms of hop and malt intensity and, usually, alcohol. Well, I drink Liberty C!tra IPA out of my Epic Hop Zombie pint glass at home so I’m clearly not one who plays by the rules. [3]

Consequently, my first beer of the evening was Panhead Days of Thunder Imperial Pale Ale (7.7%). It is named after the 1990 race car movie starring Tom Cruise but my commitment to research did not extend to watching that boy racer rom-com again. Once was more than enough. Instead, I did what every journalist, trained and skilled, would do. I looked it up on Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

I had almost succeeded in forgetting that Cruise’s character [4] had the unfortunate moniker of Cole Trickle. IMBD also informed me that for the beach racing scene, birds were lured onto the beach by birdseed and were supposed to scatter when the cars approached at high speed. No one apparently told the birds and in the first take most of them of them were run over.

In less surprising news for those who watched the film, production began without a finished script with scenes often written the day of filming. IMDB reports that during one driving sequence, Tom Cruise actually had to read his lines off cue cards attached to his windshield which resulted in a minor car accident. It was also the closest Cruise ever came to an Best Actor Oscar.

Now that I have been blacklisted by the Church of Scientology (again), it is time to get back to the Days of Thunder IPA. Frankly, I was impressed. It was bold, assertive and punchy – plenty of citrus (grapefruit and orange) and bitterness yet almost dangerously drinkable for the strength. Be careful though – too many and you might think watching Days of Thunder is a good idea. It never is.

Next up was the Panhead Supercharger APA (5.7%). It is a pleasant drop – reddish in colour, grassy nose, hints of mandarin/tangelo and passionfruit in the middle followed by a firm finish. The beer probably suffered for being tasted immediately after Days of Thunder. It seems the conventional wisdom about the order of beer tastings may have at least a modicum of truth in there. I will try Supercharger again as the lead off beer because I have the sense it is very well made.

Having tried new beers from a new brewery, my attention was next drawn to a new beer from one of my favourite brewers – Jo Wood from Liberty Brewing. He is currently in the process of building an exciting new shared brewery with Hallertau Brewbar in Auckland, but he and his magnificent sideburns took time out of their busy schedules to make a collaborative beer with another Auckland brewpub – Brothers Beer.

The end result is Liberty/Brothers Oh Brother APA (5.1%). It is a balanced brew – a lovely caramel backbone supporting some big passionfruit flavours and aromas. It is 40 IBU but could easily pass for more. Quenching and delicious – Oh Brother is an ideal starter for those who claim not to like pale ale. [5]

It is confession time – I did not drink these last two beers during my visit. The first I missed because I was utterly distracted by shiny new beers and intriguing tap badges. The second beer I had a sip of and, while I remain convinced that it is one of the most intriguing and innovative beers of the year, my palate could simply never cope with even a half pint. [6]

The beer which slipped under my usually well developed beer radar was Ben Middlemiss Lunatic Soup IPA (6.5%). When it was last on tap at Malthouse I made a determined effort to drink the entire supply during a rainy weekend. That is because I consider it to be a “powerful, punchy New Zealand pale ale with strong citrus notes, assertive bitterness and a delightful cloudy – almost soupy – appearance.” I know some drinkers have reservations about the cloudiness but it is all natural and adds to the character of Mr Middlemiss’s soup. I will not miss out next time I visit Malthouse.

The final beer is Moa Imperial Stout (10.5%) which has appeared several times in recent blogs. It reappears because the mad alchemists behind the bar decided to “kick it up a notch” by pouring the beer through the Hopinator loaded with roasted cinnamon, roasted vanilla and roasted coffee beans. It is one of the most creative combinations ever to pass through the beloved Modus Hopperandus. In related news, while I was writing this blog I received an email from a former beer tasting participant providing photographic proof he was drinking Moa Imperial Stout in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Well played sir.

To answer the largely tongue in cheek question posed in the title of this blog – are pale ales the most neglected beers in New Zealand? Absolutely not – and certainly not on my watch.

Next time, we drink to David Shearer making history as the first Leader of the Opposition to transport two dead snapper in his carry-on luggage from Auckland to Wellington so he could wave them about in Parliament. We drink twice to Prime Minister John Key who then demanded that Mr Shearer table the larger snapper so that it could be cooked for his dinner. [7]

[1] When it comes to beer writing, I’m a stickler for empirical research. It is important to note that “repeatability” is a key component of the scientific method so I tried some of the beers described below more than once.

[2] This may be a poshest way ever of saying “bogan”.

[3] I’m so rebellious I vote National.

[4] That word is used in its loosest possible context given Vince Martin from the long running Beaurepaires ads has a more plausible back story and a wider range of emotions on screen than Cole Trickle.

[5] Everyone is entitled to their opinions but anyone who does not hail the pale ale is – to use a technical term – wrong.

[6] I live in constant fear that someone will photograph me drinking a half pint. Any remaining shreds of credibility and manliness would be destroyed.

[7] This insightful political joke has been rapidly superseded by events. It turns out the large snapper won and is currently the hot favourite to become Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.

Cheers

Neil Miller

Beer Writer
Beer and Brewer Magazine

Links

Panhead Brewery on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/panheadcustomales/info?ref=br_rs
Dominion Post article on Panhead – http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/8919060/Brewer-keeps-an-eye-on-commercial-possibilities
Liberty Brewing – http://www.libertybrewing.co.nz/index.html
Brothers Brewery – http://brothersbeer.co.nz/
Ben Middlemiss Brewing – http://www.benmiddlemissbrewing.co.nz/
Moa Brewery – http://www.moabeer.com/
Malthouse Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Malthouse/7084276173
Malthouse Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/malthouse
Malthouse Taps on Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/MalthouseTaps
Neil Miller on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/#!/beerlytweeting
Beer and Brewer Magazine – www.beerandbrewer.com/